The Other Path
by King in Yellow
Summary: We choose some directions in our lives, others are forced upon us by circumstances. One beginning, DNAmy repeats an offer she made to Shego. Five different endings. Ch. 10 is the aftermath to the story Marco Polo. Best Enemies series.
1. Chapter 1 Amy's Offer

Boilerplate Disclaimer: Disney owns the various characters from the Kim Possible series. Any and all registered trade names are property of their owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage. 

NoDrogs created Kasy Ann and Sheki Go Possible in his story A Small Possibility. They have a different origin in my stories.

Thirty days after this is posted the ending favored by the greatest number of reviewers becomes part of the Best Enemies universe.

**Chapter 1 - Amy's Offer**

Shego assumed Amy had called to apologize for missing the twin's eighth birthday. DNAmy offered an explanation for her absence, and then went into a rapturous description of her new job at a Danish university. Half way through the call, however, it took a turn Shego had not expected.

"I told them what I had done; that I had applied Tomohiro Kono's research on two women, and that daughters had been born."

"You didn't tell them our names, did you?" Shego asked sharply.

"No, I didn't. They were curious, but that's for you and Kim. They did, however, encourage me to reproduce the procedure. They want to see it done, it would represent an advance in our knowledge of reproduction."

"They'll let you do that?"

"I think I'm going to like Denmark. I'm going to have more freedom here. They're letting me choose the test subjects. There are couples who would fight for the privilege. I asked you five years ago, do you and Kim want to try for another baby?"

"This is kind of sudden, I don't--"

"You need to decide fairly soon. I'm gathering the equipment and thinking of the team I'll need now. You're pushing thirty-five, Shego. You won't be an ideal candidate for the procedure much longer."

"I can't decide on something like this over the phone. I have to talk with Kim. I… I probably need to talk with the girls."

"When can you get back to me? I told the board of directors I had someone in mind. I want to be able to tell them something by the end of the week."

"Can I get back to you in a couple days?"

"That's fine. Remember, even if you and Kim want to try for another there are no guarantees. You two were incredibly lucky the first time. You might not be that lucky again, but I want to give you the chance."

Supper that evening was a Greek salad. As Kasy dug out bits of purple onion to leave on her napkin and Sheki discarded the cucumber, Shego remarked casually to Kim, "Amy called to today."

"What did she want?"

Shego waited until Kim was taking a drink to answer, "She wanted to know if we wanted another baby." The water came out of Kim's nose in a very satisfying manner.

And the proposition effectively defined family discussion for the rest of the evening.

---

A. Shego says No: Go to Chapter 5

B. Shego says Yes: Go to Chapter 2


	2. Chapter 2 Medical Exam

**Chapter 2 - Medical Exam: from 1B**

The serious conversation began after the girls were in bed, and was much shorter than Shego expected.

"I know you want this, so we should go ahead," Kim told her.

"You know I want this?"

"If you didn't, you wouldn't have mentioned it."

"But I'm the crazy one. You're supposed to try and talk me out of the madness."

"I'm being loving and supportive. I'll back you in whatever you decide."

Kim smiled as she drifted off to sleep. She would be able to sleep that night, Shego wouldn't. It served her right for breaking the news while Kim was taking a drink.

Shego called her own mother the next day to talk about her concerns.

"It would be another girl, right?" Susan asked.

"Unless there is something Kim has been hiding from me... Mom? One thing really worries me. I love the twins so much… Could I love another child as much as I love them?"

"Do we love Will and Ed any less than we do you and Henry? Do you think we love grandkids three and four any less than we love our first two?"

"No."

"Do you think we would love number five any less than the first four?"

"No."

"So, I don't think you would love your third daughter any less than you love the first two. It will be your decision if you want to try. But you will find love in your heart for her if that is the choice you make."

Amy flew in from Denmark for the medical evaluation. When Amy saw Drakken in the room she had given him a big hug and kissed him. "Hey, sweetie. How's it going?"

There was quite a crowd in the examination room, and Shego felt terribly embarrassed sitting on the table in a tie-up-the-back hospital gown as Amy, Dr. Schultz, a GP, and a hematologist conducted the exam. Drakken stayed to one side and offered moral support and any knowledge he had to offer on her condition. He sat beside her and held her hand after the others left to discuss the examination.

"I really want this, Doc," she told him.

"I've yet to see anything stop you when you set your mind to it."

But Shego's heart sank as a grim-faced Amy and Dr. Schultz returned.

"Shego," Amy began gently, "you know that your average body temperature is a bit high."

"Yeah, has been ever since the comet," the pale woman answered. "Is that a problem?"

"We're afraid it is," Dr. Schultz told her. "At that temperature we doubt a fetus could survive. Even if it could, there would be so many serious problems we don't think it is advisable to even try."

"So, that's it?" Shego asked softly.

"I'm afraid so," Amy told her.

---

A. That settles it - go to Chapter 6

B. Drakken's idea - go to Chapter 3


	3. Chapter 3 To Denmark

**Chapter 3 - To Denmark: from 2B**

Drakken interrupted the discussion, "I've studied Shego's condition more than anyone--"

"A condition, he calls it," Shego muttered.

He glared at her, "And I think I could devise a damper harness that would effectively neutralize the comet effects while she wore it."

"Nothing personal, Doc, but some of your inventions don't exactly work as well as promised."

"I'll have Wade go over my figures and double check everything.

Shego took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, "Amy?"

"I don't know," the heavy-set geneticist answered. "Karen?"

"I'll monitor the results. If it looks good I'll let you know."

"How soon will you be able to tell?" Amy demanded. "My university wants me moving on this."

"If it works she'll be normal-- OW! You didn't have to hit me!"

"Normal?!" Shego muttered.

"As close to normal as you're likely to see. Anyway," he continued, turning back to Amy. "Her base temperature will be in the normal range by the end of the month. The psychological abnormalities you'll just have to live with."

---

"Well, what do you think?" Kim demanded a few weeks later, before purchasing the tickets to Denmark.

"It's uncomfortable as hell, staying clean is going to be impossible, and I miss the plasma. How do you think I feel?"

"You want to change your mind? That's a long time in the harness."

"I can do it. I'm a little disappointed though. I thought I'd lose all the green."

"Drakken said the comet effected you down to the DNA level, you should have expected that when the girls inherited a touch of green."

"Does the world need another green freak?"

"You know, in the house I live in I'm sort of a freak for not having any green."

---

Scientists in Denmark insisted on blood samples from the girls, Kim, and Shego. They promised anonymity when the reports were published, but Kim and Shego both knew the secret would likely come out -- enough people already knew or suspected the truth. And then there were those who imagined Shego was a man in drag... At least in a scientific journal there was some chance it would seem too dull to seize the public's lack of imagination.

DNA analysis of the blood samples convinced even the skeptics who had not believed Amy's claims.

The procedure itself seemed only vaguely familiar to Kim. She had been so out of her mind with grief during the earlier experience that it had all taken on a surreal air in her mind. Now, with everyone around her offering her support and Shego taking on the major responsibility Kim could relax and not be overly concerned.

Two fertilized eggs were implanted. "What now?" Shego demanded of Amy and the doctors.

"Now we wait. You stay in bed for two days taking it easy, then light touring around Copenhagen with your family; nothing more strenuous than seeing the little mermaid statue. In two weeks you're back for a pregnancy test."

---

A. No conception - go to Chapter 7

B. Conception - go to Chapter 4


	4. Chapter 4 Pregnancy

**Chapter 4 - Pregnancy: from 3B**

The power damper harness made it difficult for Shego to analyze how she was feeling physically. She had grown so accustomed to the comet powers she couldn't remember what it was like to be without them. Psychologically she wasn't sure if excited or scared was the better description. The two weeks until the pregnancy test dragged interminably.

Kim and the girls waited with her in a room at the university hospital.

"I'm scared," Shego admitted. Kim gave her partner's hand a reassuring squeeze. The twins fidgeted madly and their parents fought the urge to yell at them.

Amy, grinning broadly, came in with a Danish physician. "Congratulations, Shego," the geneticist told her. "You're going to be a mommy."

Kim smiled as the twins went into a wild, 'we're-going-to-be-sisters' dance of joy. Then she noticed that Shego appeared to be in a state of shock. "Are you okay?" the redhead asked.

"Forgive me, I'm just having an, 'Oh, my God! What have I done?' moment."

The four remained in Denmark for two more weeks, long enough to determine that a single embryo had implanted. The twins were as disappointed as their parents were elated that they wouldn't have a second set of twins.

As far as the university's medical department was concerned the procedure itself had been proven. Shego and family went home for nature to take its course. Only those who really knew the history of the twins got the straight story, others were told simply that Shego had left the country for in vitro fertilization.

---

"Will you be writing a book about this?" Shego joked with Dr. Schultz during one of her frequent exams.

"Probably not. From my perspective there has really been nothing different about these pregnancies from a thousand others I've handled. Does it bother you that to me you're simply business as normal?"

Shego laughed, "Sounds great to me. I think you're the first person to say that about me since the comet hit. Do you notice any difference between the two pregnancies? Kim was young and stupid and I'm old and foolish."

"Kim was nineteen. I get fourteen year olds in here--"

"If either of the twins did that I think I'd kill her."

"Not a joke, Sharon. I've seen that too. And you're just thirty-four. The oldest pregnancy I've handled was a forty-nine year old woman--"

"How did that go?"

"It went fine. And most likely yours will too. If it makes you feel any better you seem to have a higher level of anxiety about this than most of the women I see."

"Is that bad for the baby?"

"No, just bad for you. It probably means you are extra careful to avoid anything that would harm her."

"So everything is going to be fine?"

"I can't promise that. What I can say is that at the start of the second trimester everything appears to be within normal levels. At this point everything goes perfectly ninety-five percent of the time."

"But the other five percent?"

"Play the odds, Sharon."

"I've never like odds," Shego muttered. "What are the odds of a chunk of comet landing in your back yard?"

---

A. Miscarriage: Go to Chapter 8

B. Birth: Go to Chapter 9


	5. Chapter 5 Ending I

**Chapter 5 - Ending 1 - from 1A**

Kim and Shego lay in bed. "You shouldn't have said that in front of the girls."

"Why! Aren't they part of the family?

"Yes, but--"

"I've never liked, 'yes, buts.' If there is any chance of my saying yes they deserve to know what's going on from the very start. They don't need a surprise sprung on them the way you… I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"No," Kim said slowly. "You're probably right -- about the surprise anyway. Do you ever regret the girls?"

"Jesus, that's a stupid question. If I had a single regret do you think I'd even give Amy's offer two seconds of consideration?  
"I remember when the day they first stood up, I remember when they first called me Eemah, I remember their first day of school… There are a lot of days I'd love to live all those moments over again."

"I know what you mean. It's a good thing we really can't get each other pregnant in any normal way or we'd probably have seven running around the house."

Shego snuggled closer to Kim, "I know exactly what you mean."

"So let's get back to my 'but'--" Kim slapped Shego's hand, "Stop that! You know what I mean!"

Shego pouted, "You never let me have any fun."

"You have way too much fun. You and I should have talked about it before we said anything in front of the girls. If we decide the answer is 'no', we don't want to consider trying for another baby they shouldn't have even known we had the discussion. It raises expectations in them."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I should have talked with you first. But it was so funny when the water came out your nose."

"I don't know if I can handle a fourth child."

"Fourth?"

"The third is the crazy dangerous one; the one who tried to toast a fluffer-nutter sandwich."

"Hey, it was a good idea. How was I to know marshmallow fluff would ignite in the toaster?"

"Let's get back to the real topic. Are you ready for two a.m. feedings and diaper changes?"

Shego reflected for a minute, "And teething, and fevers, and sleep deprivation… Will you think I'm selfish if I say I don't want to go through all that?"

"No more selfish than I am for not wanting what we have to change."

---An End---


	6. Chapter 6 Ending II

**Chapter 6 - Ending 2 - from 2A**

Shego stared out the car window as Kim drove her home. "What do you think, Kim? Am I some sort of monster?"

"How can you say that?"

"I don't know. The green skin, the inhuman body temperature, the fact my womb would kill a baby."

"Thousands, maybe millions of women in the world can't have babies. Does that make any of them monsters?"

"No. This is just hard for me. I really thought about this. Was I willing to risk everything that could go wrong, was I willing to accept all the work and responsibility? And I said yes. But my body let me down… We both work so hard to keep in shape, to be in charge of our bodies, and mine couldn't do what I wanted it to do."

"Do you want to ask if Amy would consider me again?"

"No, you told me eight years ago you were done. This was my chance; Amy made the offer to me. And I can't take it."

They stopped at Tara's to pick up the girls. Sheki and Kasy had accepted the idea of a little sister and were all over Shego, demanding to know when Eemah would bring them one.

"Quiet, girls," Kim told them. "The doctors said Eemah couldn't have a baby."

"Why?"

"It's a little hard to explain, right this minute. And Eemah and I don't want to talk about it just now. I'll try and explain later, if I can. Can you please talk about something else? Did you have fun with Jason and Jessie?"

Shego smiled, recognizing a leading question, but it worked. Plans for Jessie's birthday party filled the rest of the trip and supper than evening.

After dinner Kim left to run an errand. When she got home, carrying a bag, the girls were watching television. "Where's Eemah?"

"She went to bed early. She said we could stay up until you got home."

"Go up to your room, now."

"But Eemah said--"

"No, you're not in trouble. This is perfect, but we need to go up to your room."

Once upstairs Kim told the girls, "I think what Eemah needs is an attack by the pillow ninjas."

"Ahhh, mommy," Kasy complained, "We haven't done pillow ninjas in years."

"You did it less than four months ago. And I think they need to pay Eemah a visit tonight. Here," Kim reached into sack and pulled out two white ninja hoods, "put these on."

Sheki lodged her protest, "Eemah says that Sanjaku-tenugui are the right things to wear."

"Then she can find them. This is what the martial arts store had in stock. Now, stop arguing, you two, and put them on." When the two had pulled on the hoods Kim solemnly handed each of them a pillow and pointed to the door. "Go, my pillow ninjas, attack!"

Three minutes later Kim heard a, "What the--" and the sound of feather pillows hitting human flesh.

The redhead waited another minute for the sound of laughter, then smiled and reached into the bag for a third hood, for herself. It didn't seem fair to leave Shego outnumbered.

Much later, after snacks and a bedtime story-- "Eemah, we're too big for bedtime stories!"

"You and Mommy should have thought of that earlier, before you got everyone all excited. Now, pretend to sleep or I'll start another one after this."

Kim was already in bed when Shego got back to the bedroom, "Thanks for setting me up, Princess."

"You're welcome. I figured nothing cheers you up like getting hit in the head with a pillow."

"Then I ought to me the happiest woman on earth right this minute."

"Well," Kim asked, "are you?"

Shego paused for a minute, then smiled. "Maybe I am."

---An End---


	7. Chapter 7  Ending III

**Chapter 7 - Ending 3 - from 3A**

Shego felt vaguely nauseous in the days following the procedure. She took it as a good sign, but knew it could be nerves, and also had to face the possibility that the power damper affected her feelings.

Kim and Shego were back in the Danish hospital room two weeks later, waiting for Amy and the Danish doctors to give her the test results. Amy did not look happy when they came back to the room. "I'm sorry, Shego. Neither of the fertilized eggs implanted. You aren't pregnant."

Amy waited a minute, to see if Shego had anything she wanted to say. When the pale woman said nothing Amy continued. "It may not make you feel any better now, but you have advanced medical science. The procedure worked perfectly. Some day women like you and Kim will be able to have children... You already know that's possible. You've brought the day closer for others. I hope that can give you some comfort."

"Thanks for trying," Shego said simply.

The Danish doctors left, but Amy stayed behind with Shego and Kim for a minute, "How are you really?"

"I don't know. Disappointed? Hurt? Relieved? I had my hopes up really high."

"Do you want me to stay a little longer with you and Kim?"

A jolt of fear ran through Kim. For the first time in her life she welcomed the presence of DNAmy. She had no idea what to say to Shego, but as long as Amy was there she was spared that awful moment when she had to be comforting.

"No," the pale woman replied. "I just want to be alone with Kim for a minute."

As Amy left Kim made a confession to Shego, "I really don't know what to say."

"Neither do I. Everyone is going to ask how I'm feeling. How are you doing?"

"I guess I can empathize with you. I had my hopes up too. What was it you said, something about not sure if you were disappointed or relieved?"

Shego stared around the room. "I guess there's no point in staying here. Let's go back to the hotel. I'll tell the girls. Would you call the folk back home and tell them? I really don't feel like repeating the story that many times."

It was a long flight back to Middleton. Kim was disappointed no one was at the airport to greet them. "Want to stop somewhere for dinner?" Kim asked as they piled into the old Volvo in the long-term lot.

"No, I want to go home," Sheki said.

"We don't have any food in the house," Shego reminded her.

"I want to unpack and make sure Grandpa kept Smaug fed," Kasy said.

"You don't trust your own grandfather?" Kim demanded.

"Home first," Sheki insisted. "We can go out to eat later."

"They're as stubborn as you are," Kim muttered to Shego as they merged into traffic.

"They got it from your side too," Shego reminded her.

As soon as they stepped in the door, family and friends yelled, "SURPRISE!"

It was an exciting party - Smaug bit two people before Shego locked him in the basement.

Much later, after the two women were finally in bed, "I can't believe the girls planned that from Denmark."

"I can't believe they didn't give it away. You know Kim, the whole experience really reminded me what a miracle those two are. I've got friends now, my old family back, my new family... I'm disappointed. But I've got too much to be grateful for to let it get me down."

---An End---


	8. Chapter 8 Ending IV

**Chapter 8 - Ending 4 - from 4A**

The problems started late in the fourth month. In the fifth month Shego went into the hospital, planning to stay until the baby was born. She lost the fetus early in the sixth.

It was quiet in the hospital room.

"We need you back. The girls are tired of Pop Tarts and cold cereal for breakfast."

"The doctors said I can go home in two days."

"Your body is coming home. How about your spirit?"

"I don't know, Kim. It will probably be home later."

"The girls need you. I need you. I need the woman who uttered that famous line, 'Go ahead, plug it in. What's the worst that can happen?'"

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"I sent it in to MasterCard. I said they needed to use it in a commercial. 'Structural repairs, twelve thousand dollars. Replacing law books, four thousand dollars, New furniture, sixteen hundred dollars. Look on the green woman's face, priceless.'"

Shego almost smiled. "I think I need to rest."

"I'll be back later," Kim promised. "Wade is outside. He asked if he could see you."

"I guess so," Shego answered.

After Kim left Wade entered the hospital room, "I... I'm sorry the harness didn't work. You know I wouldn't have done anything like this to you on purpose."

"It wasn't the harness, Wade. You and the Doc did fine. It just... It's me. I wasn't a good candidate for the procedure. I should have accepted that."

"No. If that was what you wanted, you were right to try. I just thought that, well... After some of the things that have happened between us... I was afraid you'd think I sabotaged you."

"We've had some bad times in our relationship, I know that. But, Wade, you would never do something like that to me."

He reached down and took her hand. "Thanks, Shego. I'll deny this if you ever quote me. But you are one of the five most important women in my life."

"Thanks, kid. But if you say I'm like a mother to you I'm going to hurt you when I'm feeling better."

"How about older sister?" he asked bending over and giving her a kiss.

She gave him a small smile, "I would be flattered."

"So, sis, can I borrow ten bucks for the movies?"

She sighed, "Thanks for trying."

---

Life slowly returned to normal back at Casa Possible, although Shego became extremely upset whenever she woke up to find Smaug sleeping on her stomach.

"My mom was right," she told Kim. "I think the love started growing in my heart as soon as we decided to have another child. I had the love all ready for her… And now I don't know what to with it. It's like there's a hole inside of me."

The old Shego seemed to return gradually, but Kim wasn't sure if she ever fully made it. Sometimes the humor seemed forced, the wild flights of imagination never seemed to soar quite as high, or sail as far. And for years, as the anniversary of what would have been the due date drew near, Kim would sometimes awaken in the night to the sound of Shego crying. All Kim could do was pull the dark-haired woman to her and hold her tight, adding her own tears. Shego wept for the baby she would never have, Kim mourned both the lost child and what it had done to her partner.

---An End---


	9. Chapter 9 Ending V

**Chapter 9 - Ending 5 - from 4B**

Kim came back to Shego's room after sending the twins home with her mom and dad and a short detour by the newborn room. The pale woman still looked exhausted -- tired can not be cleaned off as easily as sweat.

"What do you think?" Shego demanded as soon as she saw Kim.

"Well, with you for a mother I wasn't sure what to expect. At least she has the right number of toes, but it would have been nice if they were five and five instead of six and four."

Shego was too exhausted to even glare. "Oh, I've decided I'm going to bring a lawsuit against you," she told Kim.

"On what grounds?"

"Lack of informed consent. You went through this. You knew what a pain giving birth is, and you didn't warn me properly. I'm going for all common property and half your earnings."

"Do you get the girls too?"

"No, I get the girls three."

"You're welcome to them. I'm getting off cheap," Kim laughed. "Seriously, how are you doing?"

"I just want this damn harness off. It will help me burn off some of the extra pounds I put on the last few months. I want my girlish figure back or my wife may desert me for a younger woman."

"I don't think your wife would do that to you. She seems like a good woman. I'd even call her long-suffering for all she has to put up with."

"Yeah, I knew you'd stick up for her. Well, let me tell you she's pretty hard to live with. She leaves the toilet seat up!"

Kim laughed. "Your mom is on her way. Henry is flying her down--"

"I hope he doesn't crash the Go-jet, again."

"She promised to stay with us for a few weeks. She asked about the name."

"I'm not going to tell her."

"Why not?"

"Because she would tell you."

"So I have to tell people my daughters are Kasy, Sheki, and little anonymous? I don't know how that will look on her high school diploma."

"You just have to wait a little while. Baby naming at the synagogue will be in thirty days."

"You're serious?"

"I'm serious."

"This is revenge for me picking out the names for the twins, isn't it?"

"Absolutely," Shego assured her.

"That is so petty."

"I'm letting you off easy," the pale woman mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

Kim felt some relief that the paper on the procedure wouldn't hit the medical journals for a while. They had a little time of being relatively normal left. And hopefully, after a flurry of media attention life might settle down to normal again. She reflected on that once again as she prepared to push the wheelchair with Shego and the baby out to the car.

"We need to get rid of the old Volvo one of these days," Kim remarked as she pushed the two down the hall. "We're starting to embarrass the twins."

"We're their parents. That's our job. Besides, we want a safe car around when they learn to drive."

"Are you planning on keeping it until little Jane Austen learns to drive?"

"Where did you learn the name?"

"Doh! I bribed a nurse. What did you think?"

"You've been living with me too long. What do you think about the name?"

"You gave me grief over Kasy and Sheki? The poor kid is going to be Plain Jane or Austen Powers, you know that don't you?"

"It's a great name. It has history."

"And what's with the O'Ceallaigh? People won't know the girls are sisters. She should be a Possible too."

"You expect me to take your name? The skin color lets everyone know they're sisters."

"I hoped with the harness she wouldn't inherit that."

"No. Remember, the comet affected me down to my DNA. The green seems to be dominant. But they've got a pink gene from you. God only knows what their kids will look like... Dear God, Kim. You and me as parents? The lives we've lived? The poor girls don't stand a chance."

_"You're only realizing that now?"_ Kim thought to herself as she pushed the wheelchair out the door and her dad pulled the Volvo up to the curb.

---An End---


	10. Chapter 10  Aftermath to MP

Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from the Kim Possible series are all owned by Disney. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners.

Readers chose a path in reviews and personal messages.

**Marco Polo: The Aftermath**

The library looked even better after the second remodeling. It would almost have been possible to see the fire as a blessing if it weren't for the increased premiums on their homeowners insurance. Shego used it for an office, the twins for homework, and Kim and the little redhead thought that the most wonderful place in the world for story time was one of the wing chairs in front of the fireplace.

Jane snuggled up on Kim's lap as Mommy put down _If I Ran the Circus_ and opened _McElligot's Pool_.

Kim barely started reading before the three year old asked again, "Mommy, why are they being punished?"

"Your sisters--"

"It's because Mommy is mean," Shego interrupted.

"Hush, you," Kim warned the pale woman. "Do you think I like being the parent who has to administer discipline? My job takes me out of the country so often that you spend more time with the girls. I get home and I just want to relax with my family, but instead I have to handle punishments."

"I'll be glad to take on the job," Shego offered.

"Please, Mommy?" Kasy, seated on a folding chair in one corner of the room, seconded.

Sheki, seated on a chair in another corner of the library, kept her mouth shut. If anyone talked everyone's timeout started over again.

"Time!" Kim called as she started the stopwatch over. "You know why that's a bad idea, don't you?" she asked Shego.

The pale woman reluctantly nodded her head.

Kim got three pages read before Shego broke in to story time, "It seems to me you're being a little harsh on the girls. The books suggest a minute a year is an appropriate timeout."

"Listen to her, Mommy," Kasy pleaded.

"Time" Kim called and started the stopwatch again. "The child rearing books never covered this kind of behavior. Besides, I don't know when you ever went by the book. And, for the record, if certain people had managed to remain quiet this timeout would have been over ten minutes ago."

"I go by the book whenever it agrees with me," Shego pointed out.

Kasy laughed, and Kim decided to forgive the latest violation of rules.

Instead of restarting the timer Kim kissed the little red head and went back to reading. She managed almost five pages without interruption.

"It wasn't my fault," Kasy repeated yet again. "Sheki made a bad toss."

"I caught it perfectly when Sheki threw the eggs to me," Shego insisted. "You got the exact same toss."

"Quiet, both of you!" Kim interrupted. "Now turn around and face your corners."

Shego, on her own folding chair in another corner of the room, knew she should stay quiet, but she wanted the girls to learn a valuable lesson. Next time she offered them money and chocolate to take the blame and keep her out of trouble one of them would take the bribe. She was their ally if she remained outside the prison walls, throw her inside stir and it was every woman for herself.

"Fumble-fingers," Shego mumbled just loud enough for Kasy to hear.

"Mommy! Eemah called me names!"

"Shego! You are not too big to put across my knee."

Kasy and Jane giggled appreciatively. Sheki leaned her head against the wall and prayed silently, _"Please, God, are normal parents so much to ask for?"_

"Promises, promises," Shego smirked.

Kim blushed, "Come on, Jego, let's get back to the story."

"You know I hate it when you use that nickname," Shego protested.

"Henry does have a limited imagination when it comes to nicknames, doesn't he? Didn't it occur to you that, 'Doh! I know you hate that name?' Be good now and I won't use it again today. By the way, Sheki, you've been quiet for half an hour, you are out of timeout."

The dark-haired girl raised her arms in triumph, "YES! Thank you, mommy."

"Now, dear," Kim told her, "Do you want to go to the kitchen and start supper or read to Jane and let me start supper?"

The dark haired girl thought for a moment, she had her little sister in her hair and Kasy's almost every night, and Mommy didn't get to spend as much time as she wanted with Jane. In addition Sheki panicked at the thought of Mommy's cooking. It had, over the years, expanded beyond microwave popcorn, but not very far. "I'll start supper," Sheki sighed. "How about mushroom-Swiss omelets with a tomato-avocado salad in pita?"

"With tahina dressing?"

"Of course."

"That sounds wonderful," Kim assured her. "I'm so glad you and Kasy can cook."

"Do I get any credit for that?" Shego demanded.

"Time," Kim called.

"Oh, wait," Kim called to Sheki before the girl could leave the room. "We don't have any eggs, or pita."

"So, what should I do?"

"I guess we go out to eat if Eemah and Kasy ever get out of timeout," Kim sighed. "I heard of a new pho place down in Lowerton. Maybe we can find a grocery store that doesn't know you when we're done."

--The End--


End file.
